A Terrible Night..........

The cold deep night was flourishing with the ashen moonlight and everybody dipped in warm bed with sound sleep in the village Jaswant Nagar. The hush of the night was disturbing sometimes on barking of the street dogs and with the thin screaming yell and yapping by jackals in the dense forest developed on about 70 hectares nearby the village. Since last six years, the forest has been safe shelter place for the jackals and other flora and fauna. Earlier, this large chunk of government revenue land was barren and lay discarded because it was not in use except as stand for the free grazed cattle of the village.
The rhythm of barking and screaming tuned to sound sleep of the villagers suddenly perturbed due to an un-envisaged sound “Khat Khatak ….khat… khat..”. The stillness of the woodland was getting sadden but nobody was bothered as they might thought it was something else than felling trees in the forest. The night was passing and the growing green trees were falling down on the ground. The rabble of about an hundred people was indulging in the felony.
The Jaswant Nagar Primary Farm Forestry Cooperative Society (PFFCS), District Tikamgarh (Madhya Pradesh) has been promoted by IFFDC in 1998 with membership of 47 female and 45 male. 314 hectare barren land has been allotted (not on lease) by the State Govt to the Jaswant Nagar PFFCS for development of forest and forestry activities. IFFDC facilitated and built capacity of the PFFCS members and the community for developing the bio-diverse multipurpose dense forest with 2.04 lakh plants of Acacia catechu, Acacia nilotica, Azadirachta indica, Butea monosperma, Acacia leucophloea, Dyospiros melanoxylon, Tectona grandis, Zyziphus xylopyra, Pongamia pinnata, Dalbergia sisoo, Writia tinctoria etc on three different sites of the village. The forest was protected by the PFFCS which resulted into naturally emergence of many more species of flora and fauna.
By morning the forest converted into fag ends of the incident happened in the night. All the trees altered as wood-lots departed in the village houses and buried in the cowsheds, heaps of the fodder and wooden roofs etc by the thieves. The village community had no words to articulate anyway as they were petrified with the dominant people of the village.
The Chairperson of the PFFCS was former ‘Sarpanch’ (Village Chief) of the village who whole-heartily supported the PFFCS and forestry activities. The incident happened just after the village panchayat’s election in which new ‘Sarpanch’ had been elected. The newly elected ‘Sarpanch’ was willing to be Chairperson of the PFFCS also by virtue of head of the village. But other PFFCS members were not in favour of replacing the existing Chairperson due to his contribution and dedication to the PFFCS.
It was the great defeat to the natural resource developed and nurtured by the villagers since last seven years. But at this point of time, nobody came forward for raising voice against the huge loss. The other activities of the PFFCS had also been impeded and the community members were scared to even cross the destroyed site.
In such adverse circumstances, IFFDC officials intervened and mobilised the women members of the Self Help Groups (SHG). These SHGs were promoted by IFFDC under the umbrella of PFFCS to broaden its reach to the community. A representation was given to the District Collector and Superintendant of Police by a group of 80 women members and briefed about the circumstances. After an inquiry, the offenders were taught a lesson by the police. Now, the other villagers were also extending cooperation to the women members in rescue of the spoiled situation. The PFFCS members joined their hands with the police in recovery of the theft wood from the green criminals.
Every bit of the theft wood was recovered and collected at PFFCS office within two days. The wood was sold out by the PFFCS and money generated was again used in re-planting the destroyed site. The community contributed as voluntary labour and IFFDC extended some financial help for rejuvenation of the site. Now, the shattered site again converted into the dense green forest. The real of barren piece of land took six years for converting into green forest which ruined out in a night only and again flourished as green in Six years is stuck in the mind of the community. Nobody now is even thought for recurrence the terrible real again in their village.